The streets of Kathmandu were unusually quiet on Monday. Except for a few errant water balloons and small groups of youngsters daubed with colour, Fagu Purnima, or Holi, was a comparatively drab affair, as fears of the coronavirus forced revellers indoors.

“It was dead silent in our neighbourhood. Nobody came out of their houses,” said 16-year-old Roja Chhetri from New Baneshwor. “Our parents’ didn’t want us to go out either but Holi is my favourite festival so we just ran out of the house.”

Chhetri was celebrating the festival of colours in Basantapur, where, unlike the rest of the city, hundreds had gathered to play Holi together. But even here, a number of face masks could be detected. The crowd at Basantapur did not appear as worried about Covid-19, as many said that only one case has been detected in Nepal so far and that too has been cured.

Globally, Covid-19 has been detected among 111,401 people and 3,882 have died.

“It was too boring to stay at home. Here, I can feel the celebratory vibes as people are carefree, the crowd is bigger and the ambience is more colourful,” said Balkrishna Rijal, a theatre artist who was at Basantapur with his friends.

But across the city, the streets wore an oddly deserted look. Areas like Jawalakhel, Lagankhel, Koteshwor, New Baneshwor, Thapathali, and even sections of Thamel, which would otherwise be filled with people, were devoid of merrymakers.

“This time I didn’t go anywhere to play, because the coronavirus disease has become an epidemic in our neighbouring countries, and even the government has asked to stay away from crowds,” said 33-year-old Bijay Shrestha from Tinkune.

On Saturday, the Home Ministry issued a press release asking Nepalis to take precautions while celebrating Holi, specifically requesting not to indulge in water- and colour-based revelry like last year. After the ministry’s press statement, numerous concerts and events planned for Holi were cancelled, according to officials at the Metropolitan Police Range.

“The Kathmandu Chief District Office had already made a strict announcement to not conduct any live concert or public gathering on the day of Holi due to the threat of the coronavirus, so there wasn’t any such event in Kathmandu,” said Deputy Superintendent Hobindra Bogati, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Range. “In Basantapur, there was a self-gathered mass, but in other places, the number of people celebrating Holi was significantly lower.”

Traffic on the streets was also sparse, said Senior Superintendent Bhim Prasad Dhakal, chief of the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division.

“Unlike last year, there were few reckless drivers and accidents also came drastically down,” said Dhakal. “There were just fewer people on the main streets playing Holi.”

In lieu of Holi’s traditional celebrations, some took to social media.

“Happy Fagu Purnima, this time I have uploaded old pictures. This year we could not make Fagu as colourful as it is supposed to be,” wrote Ashish Shah Thakuri, a radio jockey, on Facebook, posting pictures of last year’s Holi celebrations.

Fear of the coronavirus has not just impacted the celebratory mood in Kathmandu. Even in neighbouring India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said last week that he would not be taking part in any Holi celebrations and asked Indians to also refrain.